First

My lunch just consisted of a box of kraft macaroni and cheese and a pot of coffee. Feelin' good. Feelin' like doing some evidence MBE questions...

Any adivce for IL?? Focus on essays or MBE?

I can't be that anxious because I'm checking out ATL when I should be studying! Third!

Focus on the essays, I here if your essay is good enough they don't even grade the MBE

Yo, kiddies - many of you will fail. ROFL

But you fail automatically for misspelling the word "hear."

1:53 you "here" wrong.

It just depends on what you are good at. I can take multiple choice exams no problem, so I spent more time on essays..

If you can bullshit your way through a blue book, and struggle on the multiple choice, spend more time on that..

In any event, you need both, and it is not possible to pass the bar purely on the basis of one or the other..

I heard there might be some multiple choice questions on the bar this year.

I guess it is finally time to crack those books. Seems like everyone has been studying for months. It is just another test. Isn't it?

I took the MD bar a few years ago and now practice in DC. My advice: don't freak out. Studying like mad, worrying about what to eat, etc., all seem like overkill--you only need to pass.

IME most of the people who fail the bar either blew off studying almost entirely, or else panicked. If you're not in the first category, the most important thing is to relax, and the second most important thing is to keep going over old questions--but not in a timed or high-stress format. Just read them, come up with the answer in your head, and review the answer.

I went to an out-of-town wedding the weekend before the bar. Then I came home, did a little last-minute reviewing, and got a good night's sleep. Most of you will do just fine--remember that it's only pass-fail, and your odds as a first-time taker are a lot higher than the overall pass rate.

I'm a 1 on the scale .. I'm just planning on cramming for the next 48 hours .. Does anyone know if contracts is on the exam?

I think the only contracts subject tested on the exam is res ipsa loquitur.

I took the NY bar last year. It was tough. I just barely passed. My advice to everyone is to study hard. You dont have much time. Study at least 20 hours a day. you really do not want to fail as so many of my class mates did. This is one experience you do not want to repeat. If you are not totally stressed out, you obviously havent put in enough effort and are unprepared.

If you study hard you will pass, as simple as that. After the bar, I honest to god thought that I had completely bombed the MBE. For the longest time, I could not believe how I could have screwed up the MBE having done approx 2500 multiple choice questions. After many, many nights of dread, I passed the bar and I got a 150 on the MBE. $

Moral: Study hard, and you WILL pass.

4: Study the MBE more. IL's essays are pretty basic 1L issue spotting; make up the law if you can't remember it and just make sure you apply it correctly and completely.

Will some please block/ban my ISP from ATL!!

Seriously Yours,

Lack of Self-Control.

You should not be reading worthless blogs like this, especially at this time when you should be studying. If you are not in panic-mode, you are unprepared and are at risk of failing.

19 - if you ARE in panic mode, you are unprepared.

There are too many lawyers already. There should be a ten-year moratorium on new admittees to winnow the numbers back a bit.

this morning on npr, there was a guest talking about schwarzenegger and his threat to lower state employees' paychecks to minimum wage.

her example of what this means:
one can only imagine how you would administer the california state bar exam without the ability to hire temporary employees. those are the employees who would be affected by the move.

no worries CA!

#15/2:01

you can't be serious??

can you?

Hey kiddies, even if you pass the bar, that doesn't mean there are any jobs out there (for those middling 83% of law students who didn't get summer associateships). Trust me on this.

23 - I'm pretty sure #15 is not serious. Calm down. Perhaps you need a break.

I truly love that there's a Prof. Michael Kaufman Facebook group. Just reading about some of his gems makes me laugh out loud. During the civ pro, IL practice, agency, pships and corp lectures, I laughed harder than at any time in recent memory (certainly since before law school).

["New paragraph, indent, nonetheless...yeah, use this word: 'nonetheless''] He was also by far the most worthwhile and effective professor - and his end-of-outline summaries rule.

May we all achieve astropoints next week.

In NYC they administer the NY State bar at the Javitts Center, this ginormous convention center with multiple convention halls. Its bedlam on thest days...couple thousand test takers I think.

I think im gonna take a lawn chair down there and just people watch. =)

I reccomend bringing in Starbucks Doubleshots cans. Small (dont fill that bladder!) source of quality caffeine, and they taste way better warm than a RedBull does.

All I know is, that torts professor was mad funny the year I took BarBri. Fuck the Bar!!!

Kaufman was pretty good. I can hear his voice as I do the IL civ pro questions. Con-sti-TU-tion-al!

Look to your left and look to your right in Bar/Bri. One of you will not pass. In some states, more than one of you will not pass.

my last weekend i drank and just vegged. i had a breakdown earlier in that week (last week before bar), and so it dawned upon me that 1) i'm glad i freaked out BEFORE the exam, and a week in advance; and 2) no more sense wigging out the weekend before, so relax, have a couple (not hangover special) drinks and try to enjoy your weekend.

i passed, first try.

Bottom line - pass the exam your first time. With the job market being what it is, employers are looking for a reason NOT to hire a particular applicant for an associate position - failing the bar exam would be a perfectly good reason.

Full body massage every day before th exam.

33 - happy ending?

Good post #12. Thanks for the advice.

At this point, don't do too many timed essays; just focus on issue-spotting and reading and rereading model answers. Get plenty of rest. Don't flip out.

34 - yes, passed the bar.

The bar exam is, primarily, as stress test, a big psych-out.

Look at the stats (in most states, if you graduate an ABA accredited school and are taking the bar for the first time) you have a better than 3 in 4 chance of passing.

Do what you need to keep your composure.

Stay loose.

You will pass, unless you just cannot write a coherent paragraph or you clutch.

ESSAY TIP: Enumerate AND UNDERLINE THE ISSUES. Mumble something else about each issue in the context of the hypo. REMEMBER that the grader is being paid just above min wage to grade 100 essays a day over breakfast with the kids screaming in the background. If he/she can quickly check off the issues you spotted, he she will write an 80 at the top of the essay, circle it, and pick up the next exam answer.

34 thinks 33/37 has it right! Asian massages = bar success.

15 is BS. You only find out your score in NY if you fail, so he/she would have no idea if he/she barely passed.

I hope you all fail.

i am freaking the hell out! help!

If you add it up, there's about 20% of the surveyed rated either a "1" or a "10." Everybody else is somewhere in between.

My hypothesis is the 1s and 10s are the 20% or so that fails every year. Maybe toss in the 2s and 3s to that if your state has a 70-75% pass rate.

Study hard a couple hours every day, and force yourself into about a 6-8 state of anxiety (just nervous enough to keep you focused, not so nervous you have a damn breakdown) and you will slide through with the rest of the crowd.

Remember you're going for minimum showing of competence, and there are a lot of jackass lawyers out there who pass.

But do quit reading legal blogs. Leave that up to us poor saps who don't have any billable work to do. HA!

if you're behind, or think you are, here is the plan.

ISSUE SPOT ALL THE ESSAYS YOU CAN RIGHT NOW

Issue spot every essay you can get your hands on right now. Don't write the essays out, just issue spot and keep it to the 8-10 minute limit to write out your outline.

Read the essay answers, note the issues you missed, and categorize under the subject headings in Conviser in the conviser table of contents.

Issue spotting is worth most points on bar exam b/c no issue - no points for rule (even wrong rules get points), no points for analysis (shabby analysis scores points (only got an hour for 1 of these puppies remember), no points for conclusion (if that is actually worth points).

If you aren't prepared for the multiple choice by now, you got a problem.

People in my high school used to be anxious about the bar exam all the time. It was no big deal.

Does anyone know where one can find information about how bar exam results compare to others. I would like to know how my 178 on the MBE stands up against the rest of the country, state, etc.

I scored around the 90th percentile on the BarBri simulated MBE. Should I stop worrying?

is anyone else doing full-day practice exams on saturday/sunday like bar/bri tells you to do?

i'm thinking i'll get more out of reviewing flashcards/outlines

Lat,

You missed the "Kill a Hobo with Hammer" comment in the greatest hits.

I'm worried about the fact that I'm NOT worried enough about the exam. I attribute this to scoring well on most of the practice questions and essays, which has led me to believe that I can slack off now. I hope that I'm not screwing myself over.

can someone explain what is the meaning "poopin in a hat?" I find it funny, but I'm not sure why.

Only an idiot wouldn't be extremely nervous.

But take heart, between total morons (they'll be easily identifiable, day of) and arrogant jackasses and lemmings who believed (1) the hype that EVERYONE from their lawschool passes the bar, study or not, or (2) that the people who told them they weren't studying actually weren't studying, and said to themselves "Well, if nobody else is studying, neither will I", the 15-25% of people who will actually fail are already taken care of.

Just don't panic or bail, and you'll be fine.

I crapped my pants a little and vomited in my mouth causing bubbles to come out my nose. Other than that, everything went swimmingly.

32 = spot on!

i heard that only 10% of ATL readers pass the NYBE on the first try

True 55 - I passed the first time and that was b/c I hadn't heard of ATL yet ... who knows what my fate would have been if ATL had sucked up my study time. All readers will certainly fail.

You won't sleep the night before. Some will vomit the day of. Maybe you'll be one of them. The pressure will be almost too much to bear. Then, finally, the time will come to crack open the first essay book, and just like that, the emotional part of you will shut off and your intellect will take over. And lo and behold, you'll pass.

i had to leave the law library at my school today because people were freaking out so bad. i am nervous about the exam, but only nervous enough to keep studying for these next few days. i showed up this morning and people had the fear of god in their eyes as they were furiously typing out essays or madly tearing through flash cards.

i stopped doing practice exams last week and have just been doing 25-50 mbes every day and outlining 1-2 essays depending on the subject. i have been leaving the library by 5-6 and have been watching marathons of deadliest catch or jon and kate plus 8 at night.

is anyone else bummed that next week is shark week? of course they have to have shark week during the bar exam.

good luck everyone!

p.s. if you are taking the test at the san mateo expo center in CA and you puke on me i will kick your ass. consider yourself warned. assumption of risk hombre.

I disagree 57 - I think the intellect will exit with the evacuated vomit. In fact, I think those that vomit will be too preoccupied with the fact that (1) they smell like yak; and (2) that everyon is looking at the yak on their clothes. Before you know it, time is up, a single question hasn't been answered, and you still smell like yak

poopin' in a hat

i know someone, a pro fuckup, who took the bar on the tail end of a 3 day bender. he kept himself lucid by doing keybumps in the bathroom every 20 min or so. At lunch he went to the bar and had a few shots of whiskey to calm his nerves. he passed with flying colors.

it's not that bad. calm down and have a beer. if you become an asshole when presented with a little bit of stress, you ARE an asshole

I studied for 4-6 hours a day splitting it half (2 and 2, 3 and 3) and played pool and had lunch in between. Took the bar in FL. got a 156 on MBE and 156 on FL.

Just take it easy and try to relax. the last week before the exam i did alot of PMBR redbook q's. and them memorized the BarBri essays for the subjects tested in my state. (they are pretty much all the same eventhough the questions are different, ie. all family law essays are the same, torts too, just hit the issues and spell EVERYTHING out, K is offer, acceptance, etc..)

oh yea, the night before, you arent going to sleep, just deal with it. Once the morning is over, the afternoon portion will be easy!

I studied for 4-6 hours a day splitting it half (2 and 2, 3 and 3) and played pool and had lunch in between. Took the bar in FL. got a 156 on MBE and 156 on FL.

Just take it easy and try to relax. the last week before the exam i did alot of PMBR redbook q's. and them memorized the BarBri essays for the subjects tested in my state. (they are pretty much all the same eventhough the questions are different, ie. all family law essays are the same, torts too, just hit the issues and spell EVERYTHING out, K is offer, acceptance, etc..)

oh yea, the night before, you arent going to sleep, just deal with it. Once the morning is over, the afternoon portion will be easy!

just remember - "it takes two baby" - francese

After the vast majority of you pass, you'll look back on the day and think: "Wow, I probably should have been more worried about taking the LSAT than the bar..."

Can someone tell me what the original frat stud comment was? Obviously it was something hilarious and I know it had to do with Auto Admit, but I don't know the original story.

You think the exam is tough - waiting for the results is worse -- especially when all of you see that you have failed and have to go through the entire cycle again - this time without the hope of securing a job. Good luck!

60 - please discuss.

Taking in NY. Haven't really looked at any of the practice essays. Have gone to most of the lectures (all the important ones at least) and have a vague idea of what is going on in most subjects. Haven't done too much on the mbe but based on practice tests I'd guess I'll get someone around the 125-130 avg.

How well will I be able to do on the essay parts relying on mostly BS and some law. I can't tell if you can't really BS the graders on this one or if as long as you say something reasonably coherent you'll get the 5 points you need on the essays. I'm at a T25 if that matters.

60 - please elaborate.

I took the Illinois bar in 1991 (yes, I'm that freaking old), and I thought I failed it, but I passed.

I took California in 2001, working full time, without telling my firm, and with no review class. Granted, I didn't have to take the multistate again, but that was because I did well enough on the Illinois one for California.

The bottom line--it's not that bad. It's easier if you write well. I recommend using a lot of headings.

I took the Illinois bar in 1991 (yes, I'm that freaking old), and I thought I failed it, but I passed.

I took California in 2001, working full time, without telling my firm, and with no review class. Granted, I didn't have to take the multistate again, but that was because I did well enough on the Illinois one for California.

The bottom line--it's not that bad. It's easier if you write well. I recommend using a lot of headings.

Delaware bar = 59% pass rate, 8 state essays (45 minutes per) with some of the essays covering multiple subjects. + MBE and MPT. I swung a 151 on the BarBri MBE and do reasonably well on the essays, but sometimes blank on a sub-issue or two. Do I have cause to worry?

55 - I wont be surprised if the 10% pass rate rumor is accurate! Happy i didnt know about ATL back then.

That said (i) Law Firms need to block ATL the same way they block facebook; (ii) class of 08, get off the freaking web! You will thank yourself in Nov.

Stop studying by Sunday night. Relax. It'll be over soon

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...

If you did not put forth the effort, regardless of how naturally bright you think are, you probably will fail.

If you remember to slow down and write your essays in a very simple IRAC formula and avoid trying to get every single issue or write down everything in your brain on each issue, you will probably pass.

The MBE's a crap shoot.

Good luck.

65, truer words never spoken.

65 - totally true, gospel-esque even...

48/2:43

I'm planning on doing the practice test, but only outlining the essays/ MPT, and spending the afternoon reviewing. I'm going to power through the MBE on sunday, taking a half hour for lunch. I want the practice, but you're right, substative review may be more valuable depending on where you are.

I know I should be studying like crazy right now, but I just can't make myself. I honestly haven't studied very much all summer either. I think I'll be fine, but don't really know.

67 = John McCain (grumpy but true); 65 = Barack Obama (positive, hopeful, and forward thinking)

If you don't pass, it's either because you are stupid and went to a crappy law school, or because you froze in panick. While studying for the bar a fews ago, I heard a couple of people talking outside. The girl said this would be her fourth time taking it, and if she failed, she was going to hire a hypnotherapist to see if he could help calm her nerves.

I'm quite sure she failed again. If you are at that point of nerves, you shouldn't be a lawyer in the first place. Not coincidentally, I know she was a graduate of the law school where BarBri classes were held. The school was a TTT school.

To prepare for the NY Bar this weekend 1 year ago, my study partner and I went to 2-hour brunches (both Saturday and Sunday) at Bistro Bis in DC – they have a great prix fix 3 course brunch (great pommes frites) and paper on the tables with crayons – so we would practice writing our essays in crayons while ate. It is good to chill out this weekend as much as you can. We passed.

83 = child prodigy who took the bar with crayons. 83 = exception to the rule. Everyone who is not 83 will FAIL!

But seriously - if you go to a school where the first time passage rate is in the high 90s, and you did like 1/5th to 1/2 the recommended bar bri work, should you honestly be that worried?

I would like to punch Spak in the face for that travesty he called secured transactions. Also, his Spaketeria is TTT.

Seriously 85, you will fail. Sleep in and forget it. You will fail you troll.

Looking over the top scoring essays in GA (gabaradmissions.org), it's obvious that the key to success on the essays is issue spotting. 38 is absolutely right. GA examiners gave top scores to folks who totally whiffed the correct rule of law or conclusion but managed to identify the issues.

GA folks: make sure you are comparing the BarBri essay answers to the top scoring released answers. It'll make you feel a ton better.

87, I would think 85 would be fine - why do you think he/she will fail?

If bar/bri really wanted to help us pass, they would make franzeze available for a little pre-bar stress relief

Goddamn - the comments system is slowwww on this site. Lat, fix this shit.

FUCKING THING SUCKS! - Bill O'Reilly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJjNVVwRCY

for a competitive advantage, don't shower!

My anxiety level when I took the CA bar 2 years ago (and passed) was a 10+ -- mostly to do with the fact that I hadn't written out a single full essay or performance test. Seriously bad idea! But I did issue spot and outline a ton of essays, which I thought was more important, and I think it helped during the actual exam.

i've been studying in my adult diaper all week to get used to the feeling

checking atl 4 days before the bar exam...goooooood idea? good idea?

see ya in august atl.

take the weekend off. go to the park. have a hot dog. see batman. whatever. put it out of your mind. you're probably completely fried by now. rest up and get ready to put your game-face on. you'll get a much higher return on going in well-rested than from trying to cram any more information into your head.

for NY, make sure you know Wills and Corporations. Those essays will definitely be on there.

http://www.someecards.com/upload/encouragement/hopefully_two_miserable_days_of_taking.html

serious question, guys.

of the ~130 practice barbri essays (NY), how many have you outlined/written?

i've done ~40 and plan to do another 10.

re: 22. It's true. If the Governator signs the executive order as expected on Monday, all temporary workers for the state will be immediately terminated. (They will be rehired once there is a budget) (This is in addition to the fact that all the rest of state employees will only be making minimum wage - depending on what Chaing does) The Department of Consumer Affairs has 400-500 temporary workers who proctor the CA bar.

So who the hell knows what's going on.

serious question, guys.

of the ~130 practice barbri essays (NY), how many have you outlined/written?

i've done ~40 and plan to do another 10.

Took both NY and NJ last summer.

I was one of the many Javits takers in NY who somehow survived the ComputerGate of '07.

My daily routine consisted of doing MBE questions from the PMBR books and going over the answers making notes on the ones I missed, going to BarBri lectures, and looking at released essays both on the NY Bar website and in the BarBri yellow book.

Technically I started around May but didn't get serious until sometime in June to be honest. Including BarBri lecture time, I probably put in about 12 - 16 hours a day.

Never really scored better than 50 to 60% on the practice MBE tests. Even in July. This caused total panic in July. Had many meltdowns. Talked to friends and family a lot for moral support. Had to remember to relax and take it easy and just focus on what I did know as oppose to what I didn't. I made sure I knew the frequently tested essay topics for NY (crim, fam, corps, etc.) and just skimmed the rest.

The week of the test I was reviewing all up until the morning of the day before. I made myself stop at about noon. Put in some DVD's, poured a glass of Black Label, and went to sleep.

On the first day of NY, totally did not know that stupid #@*9ing Commercial Paper essay, but nailed the rest of them though. On the second day I made my way through the MBE with a little time to spare in both morning and afternoon. Some questions I knew without even reading 1/2 way through it, some questions I had absolutely no idea, and the rest were a 50/50 toss up. Ended up with a 150 on the MBE and passed NY.

The third day studied for (no lie) about 45 minutes in the parking lot of the exam in NJ, took NJ, passed NJ.

Just remember not to freak out. You know more than what you think you know if you've been going to the lectures and studying.

BTW, I had several buddies, one at Cal Berkley, one at Harvard, one at Columbia, and one at U. Chicago who all waited until the last 2 weeks so ever START studying for NY - despite their raw intellectual superiority they all failed and had to retake in February. Moral of the story - don't do that.

83: anyone who uses the phrase "pommes frites" is banned from California - please stay in NY or DC or wherever on the East Coast you are.

Hmm. Seems like a lot of people did take Barbri seriously. I'd like to hear stories from people who slacked off and passed.

99/101 - I took the NY bar two years ago and did roughly half the homework BarBri required and passed. I'm taking the CA bar this year using the same system since I'm working while studying. There's no magic number of essays you need to practice to pass.

Not kidding. Could really use some pep talk. I scored 147 on a (real) practice MBE. That's pretty good, right? Not stellar, but pretty good? I'm not doing Bar Bri so I have NF idea.

I need to rock the MBE b/c my state essay score will suck.

104: those stories don't exist.

Does anyone else think the bar-bri questions are terrible? The released multiple choice questions have clear right and wrong answers. Many of the barbri questions are genuinely debatable. If you're worried you aren't getting enough barbri Qs right, do a good mix of released questions and you'll probably feel much better.

The barbri essay questions also suck, because they don't edit out extraneous issues. For example, a barbri essay's 1-4 numbered rulings might all raise the same personal jurisdiction issue while raising different cross-over issues, which is just sloppy and irritating when you're trying to outline in a timely manner. By contrast, the released bar questions do a pretty good job of partitioning issues.

Everyone--relax. Do a little light studying, so things are fresh in your mind, but let your mind unbend a little.

On the essays, don't just say what the issues are, but what they are not--i.e., if there is a first amendment free speech question, that obviously has nothing to do with commercial speech STATE that it has nothing to do with commercial speech.

Force yourself to be calm and deliberate. Ignore jackasses on ATL.

Best of luck!

the ones they release are the easy ones...not a good indicator...

104: I went to all the classes, but only did about 1/2 to 1/3 of the homework they assigned. I passed CA.

The NY BOLE website includes past essays with 2 above average response per question from actual test takers. Interestingly, the two responses always seemed to differ greatly in the rule of law asserted. Is this evidence that issue spotting and bullshit analysis is sufficient for the essays?

I got a slacked off and passed story.

My buddy smoked pot the entire time. Up to and including the morning of and at lunch the day of the exams. Oh he studied, but he studied higher than the stratosphere. During the exam, an earplug was bothering me so I took it out to readjust, my buddy was giggling during the essay portion (both days), total stoner giggle too. He said later he got a warning from the proctors (I think because he smelled like Indonesia and the broads flanking him and on the left and right looked pretty high strung (one was sucking an asthma inhaler like an alcoholic on a cigarette at an AA meeting) - he says for the giggling).

PASS

I wonder if I can pre-register my laptop for the February bar? So nice, I'll write it twice.

Does anyone know anything else about California and the budget stand-off thing? Like... what will happen if Arnie goes through with it? Even speculations?

110 - false. They're just more carefully drafted. You get bar-bri Qs wrong because they ask about crap like accidents at petroleum manufacturers and you have to guess if that is ultra-hazardous or not even if you know the strict liabilility v. negligence rules. Bar questions do a better job of making the issues clear so you either know the rule/exceptions and get them right or you don't.

I have no doubt that I will pass, so I'm not worried about it - I was just wondering if anyone else found that the bar-bri questions do a crappy job of testing your knowledge as compared to the released questions.

108 - Yes, the BarBri questions SUCK bigtime. BarBri in general pretty much sucks. They throw everything and the kitchen sink at you, just to say they didn't miss anything, and 1/2 of that crap isn't even on the exam. Their MBE questions are nothing like the MBE questions you will see on exam day. Further, you are spot on re their essays being off the mark. And I was a BarBri rep at my school and I'm saying this.

112 - that just goes to show you that you can pass the bar just so long as you are able to articulate some rule that applies to the fact pattern and make it work.

107, I think you're wrong - not everyone studies themselves to death before the bar. Bar/bri assigns an insane amount of work, and very few do all of it. I think 1/2 to a 1/3rd is probably the average, but maybe I'm wrong. If you're getting 145 on mbe practice tests, those are not representative scores - they are extremely high. The average barbri mbe score was like 113 or something on the practice test. And more than 50% of people pass, so you're probably going to pass if you got a 100 on the thing.

BarBri questions are crap. It is part of their business model. They give crap, tricky questions in an effort to convince the students that they need more help to pass the bar. Then one of two things happen (both good for BarBri): the dumbasses sign up for additional BarBri class, or when the student is confronted with real bar question he thinks he was well prepared by his $4K classes.

um, if there is no test in CA next week that means we all pass...right?

Why would there be no test in CA next week?

CA might as well stop studying now. the governator gets what the governator wants.

the bar exam proctors in CA are all considered temporary employees of the state and the governor is firing all temporary employees to try to balance the budget.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9980586?source=most_emailed

so yeah. no proctors, no test. hopefully the state bar can pull it together.

RE 92 & 94

For a real competitive advantage skip the adult diaper and soil yourself in the conference center!!

If you don't crack a book the entire summer you'll probably fail. Beyond that there are 2 types of people who legitimately study and still fail: (1) morons who won't pass no matter how many times they take it, and (2) people who have some catastrophe (computer breaks, they oversleep).

I attended most of the bar bri sessions (CA) and paid attention for as long as humanly possible (about 2/3 of the average lecture). I did very little work outside of class until around the 4th of July, and then the last two weeks I did about 8 hours a day outside of class, although to be honest I still f'd around online a lot. I passed. Those people who say they spend 16 hours a day at it for the whole summer are either the type of people who lied in law school about how much they studied to make other people feel bad or have thoroughly miserable lives. Or both. Probably both.

125 is spot on. I respect your candor. Spot on.

The barbri MBE Q's suck and I think my score will be lower as a result because I keep thinking the released Q's have some sort of trick when theyre actually straightforward

I'm taking the D.C. Bar. Am I the only one? Because it could get a little awkward being alone in a big room for two days.

An earlier commenter had suggested that we take the edge off by getting laid.

I'm still waiting for someone in NY to answer my CL ad:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cas/769830895.html

129 just ruined me

128: I will be sitting next to you.

When I took the bar in July 2007, I did about 1/2 of BarBri's practice MBE questions. I predominantly did the "easy" and "intermediate" BarBri sets. I was getting just above what BarBri said was average on the questions. When I took the actual MBE, I thought I had failed. The questions were tougher than I expected. I was irate with BarBri because I didn't think their questions were representative at all of what was on the MBE. I got my score and found out I got 160. All was then forgiven.

BarBri questions are much, much longer than the real questions. I struggled with time on BarBri's practice tests but got done over 30 minutes early on both the morning and afternoon session of the MBE.

128: You are a foul individual!

Correction: 129, you are a foul individual!

125 - you assume too much. If you only did 8 hours a day then your brain is better than most. Honestly, both my study partner and I did close to 16 hours a day in that last month easily - and that had nothing to do with bragging rights like those idiots in law school who lie about how long they've studied. Nope. That had to do with the fact that we were scared $hitless that we were going to fail. Nevertheless, we both passed NY.

Now in retrospect, did we really need 16 hours a day? I'd have to say it depends on what month it was. In May, no way. In June, not hardly. We maybe did 8 hours a day in June. But when July came - forget about it - it was an all out marathon by that point.

We do agree on the BarBri homework though. I NEVER did the BarBri homework. EVER. I found it to be a complete waste of study time.

135: what the hell were you doing for 16 hours a day if not doing all that homework? Just reading outlines for 16 hours a day?

so i havent done any barbri essays except the ones we turned in, but Ive done everything else, including loads of power memorization. any thoughts??

i'm too sick of this shit to be anxious anymore. BRING IT ON!!!!!!!

what is power memorization

139, it's like power walking

Don't worry . . . . about a thing . . . .cause every little thing . . . is gonna be alright!
I'm taking the bar next week, and I have certainly gone through my own periods of stress. My advice is to stop doing practice questions--especially MBE questions, because 1) they may or may not be representative of what you will actually face, and 2) they will only make you feel worse about yourself and question your preparedness. Focus on making sure you know the law. This will build your confidence, and it will allow you to rattle off the elements of those multi-factor tests like nobody's business. We're gonna pass.

140: can i do it if i'm not a 45 year old woman?

any bets on which exotic topic they're gonna test in NY on tuesday? my money's on commercial paper, because they're thinking everyone's gonna blow it off since it was the surprise last summer.

that's why I've ONLY studied commercial paper for the last week

137: thats about what i've done. I'm hoping I will know whats going on in about 3 of the essays to pull around a 5/6 and be able make up enough shit to get 4s on the other two. pull around a 5 on the mpt and average on the nymc and then do enough over passing in the mbe to make up for the deficiency on the mbe.....hopefully that adds up to passing

144:

I think your strategy of "do[ing] enough over passing in the mbe to make up for the deficiency on the mbe" is doomed to failure.

Granted, I'm no expert in econometric testing, but... ... ...

I'm, worried about the ny multiple choice questions because even though I memorized a lot of shit I didnt really get many of them right

ah, i meant to make up for the local day
-144

Yeah, well if you can clear 29 or 30 of them you're golden, 146.

If you're only batting .400 then I guess you'll have to pick up another point on the essays. But it's only 10% anyway.

having been violently ill for the last 2 weeks (food poisoning, horrible flu, etc.), mebbe it's all the meds i'm on, the massive doses of xanax (that didn't put me to sleep, damnit!), or that i've only eaten 5 full meals in the last 2 weeks, but strangely i'm not nervous at all, even though i haven't really studied since the day before the last day ofbar/bri. the big question will be will i physically be able to make it through the exam, not whether i pass!

how are people studying for the new york mc q's?

I did the barbri questions and that's it. no clue what to do bout them

I was helped when told to cough up the $26 to get the 100 questions from NCBE on-line store, actual MBE questions, and took it in like 2+ hours.

Got murdered on PMBR a week ago, destroyed these 100 questions.

Still feel like I don't know crap, but am slightly less nervous.

Any thoughts on taking ambien pre-test?

Any thoughts on taking ambien pre-test?

I didn't go to any test prep classes.Tell me if I will be okay or if I should be worried:

I graduated from law school at the end of April, and worked part-time during May. I probably spent 80 hours in May reading BarBri MBE outlines and doing practice questions. Then I went to Europe for the entire month of June. No Studying.

In July I have studied everyday, doing every question in the BarBri MBE book and reading old essay questions and grader's guides from old bar exams in my state (which is a sparsely populated Western state), although I took about four days off to attend a wedding in Canada. Judging by the sample answers given by previous takers of the bar here, I don't feel too worried, but I wonder if I am the only one who didn't take a course, and if that is a huge issue.

So what's the bare minimum needed on the MBE to pass in Illinois if you do okay on the essays (average a 3)? BarBri says the average score on the MBE is 65%, but passing "is much lower." How much lower?

I think I went from a 1 to a 10 by reading all your comments. Thanks guys.

But seriously I did/am doing every assignment that barbri told me to do and I have a lot of free time everyday (8 hours or so of free time), enough to read ATL..

I'm sure if you slacked off the first month or two you can catch up by studying hard and feel the same preparation going into the bar.

That being said, hope I don't fail. Good luck everyone.

I wouldnt take ambien pre test or you'll fall asleep silly!

I wonder how many candidates are popping Adderall without a prescription.

I'm a little bit drunk -- ripping out pages from my NY agency/partnership outline, then turning the sheets into sweet paper airplanes for my GF's cat to chase around. Beats reading this stuff.
Oh, and I don't really like this new format.

Luck, y'all.

I think this might kill me. My body hurts.

159,

try making some paper airplanes,

s/158

Sparsely populated western state person: if you're the smart type you'll pass.

When I took the Bar too many years ago to admit, my hubby used to come in the room while I was studying, answer a few test Multistate questions correctly, and announce that he could be a lawyer. It was highly annoying and douchebaggery. We are still married, but I am living a life of luxury with our kids and he is working his ass off. Who's the douche now?!

p.s. I passed on the first try in NY, then his conglomerate moved us to CA, and I passed there again on the first try, even though I graduated from a TTT and had lousy grades. Had a GREAT time in law school, though, and got a great job. Posers suck!

154: You should be okay. If you've gone through a bunch of old questions from both the MBE and essay, you've done the most important thing BarBri gives you.

Gentlemen at my preparatory academy frequently imbibed considerable quantities of spirits and partook of gazing upon lascivious print matter to banish the melancholia in the penultimate days prior to written examinations. ‘Twas not a conspicuous event.

~ Fraternity Lothario

Not anxious, just exhausted. How boring is studying for the bar 9 hours a day for two months? I slept 9 hours last night and feel like I've been awake for three weeks.

I've given up worrying. On Wednesday, I woke up feeling horrible, with a sore throat, cough, temp, etc. For the past three days I have not been able to crack a book, as I've felt miserable with alternating chills and sweats. I finally went to the doctor on Friday, and as suspected, found out that I have a run of the mill viral infection that must "run its course." Today is Saturday, and I do feel a little better. I can study today.

Anyway, my point is, I had three ruined days this close to the bar exam, and I still think I'm ready enough

You've got to ask yourself one question about the bar exam: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

I think I've lost like 20 lbs this summer from not working out and hardly eating

for il you needed a 132 scaled to pass if you split day 1 and 2. Last year... Which I think was approx 118 raw.

so if you score like 4s on the essays in ny what do you need raw on the mbe? if there a calculator anywhere for how they do the scores

wait so the passing MBE score ends up being a 118 raw? (roughly, depending on the state)

I thought you needed a 125-130 raw score to pass???

Well the best part of getting all this over with is to smoke sumpin and go see Dark Knight in fucking IMAX son

to be clear, what raw score do you roughly need to pass in NY?

to be clear, what raw score do you roughly need to pass in NY?

to be clear, what raw score do you roughly need to pass in NY?

Wow 125 or even 118 raw seems high just to PASS. Seems like that would be a good average number but that the passing number would be much lower.

no more bar exam. do not want.

Im taking the NJ Bar this week. I prepared by buying everything out there, barbri, pmbr, emanuels, audio lectures... I spent so much money and ended up studying 1 to 2 hours a day by sitting in a hot tub listening to lectures on my ipod. Im pretty confident I have this one in the bag, but then again... it is the NJ bar.

Can someone give me a definitive answer on how the 10 experimental questions factor into the raw score?

The 10 experimental questions are not factored into the raw score at all. How you do on them does not affect your grade.

Why does the Barbri book say that the average raw score is "128 out of 200 (72 wrong)" Doesn't that imply that all 200 are considered for "raw" score purposes?

I heard that if you get all 10 of the experimental questions right, you automatically get a 180 on the MBE. Ok, I didn't hear that, but that'd be a pretty good rumor to start.

There seems to be agreement that the NCBEX released questions are much easier than the BarBri questions . . . what is more indicative of the real exam? Somewhere in the middle?

Hey 179, I don't think you have a chance in hell of passing. NJ is tougher than you think.

That's what I want to know 184. Anyone???

179 Pass or fail at least you enjoyed your summer.

184 is asking if the real bar will be as easy as the released MBE questions, or do they not release the hard questions.

summer? what's that?

RELAX.

I have crazy anxiety issues - clinical, even. But by the last weekend before the MA bar, I forced myself to relax.

And I relaxed on the day(s) of the bar. Stop worrying about passing scores, practice tests, and do whatever it takes to be kind to yourself.

] wish you all relaxation and mental clarity!

I will be taking the Maryland Bar on Tuesday, and I'm thinking I might get very pent up and anxious after each morning session. Is there anyone out there like me, who just needs to "release" a little in between the two sessions. Hit me up, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, burst the bubble around your existence.

191, just rub one out right there in the middle of the morning session. That will help you out and distract everyone else at the same time. Yeah I know, next comment is - Guys at my high school used to ..........it was no big deal.

191 -

lamest comment ever.

and I agree with 192. just beat off, why would you want to mes with a random hookup around the bar? why don't you just hit an AMP tomorrow or Monday?

love,
193

I really just dont understand what 191 was talking about

i'm sitting here just a couple of days until the test and realizing the real mind-f*ck of this thing is that it is a very hard test. That's why passing is picking up about 60% of the points. Which feels like failing, mentally at least...

191:

Please send me your full contact information by posting it in these public comments. I also need a "release"....so I think we can have a good time during the lunch breaks.

Sincerely,

Really Hot Chick

is the bar curved? im still unclear whether they have cut offs or they look at the spread

Guys in my high school used to listen to audio lectures in the hot tub all the time to pass the bar. It was no big deal.

If you correctly guess the 10 experimental questions and leave them all blank, you automatically pass.

would maliciously setting a bag of poop on fire in a dwelling of another be arson? What would Whitebread say?

He'd say "What are we going to do? We're going to learn if setting a bag of poop on fire is arson.. What are we going to do? We're going to learn if setting a bag of poop on fire is arson.. What are we going to do? We're going to learn if setting a bag of poop on fire is arson. That's what we're going to do, Georgians."

New ATL contest:

Who has the balls to post the last comment before starting the bar?

That means that if you log on and post at, say, 8:15 when you're supposed to be at the testing center by 8:00 you're balsy. But if you post at 8:50 when the exam starts at 9:00 you're champion. And on and on.

Only conceivable problem: anonymous lawyer commenters posing as bar takers posting at 8:59.

I, for one, plan to use my wireless connection at Javits to make one important ATL post before time starts.

What about being the first person to run out of Javits screaming, and post about how crazy they are?

"First" to "finish" the bar?

The malicious burning of a domicile (now any building). Burning Poop in the dwelling of another: trespass, defined as the intentional physical invasion of the real property of another, nuisance: the substantial, unreasonable interferance with the use and enjoyment of real property; tortious interference with family relations (when your wife smells the poop burning you aren';t getting laid, hence loss of consortium); intentional infliction of emotional distress: exreme and outrageous behavior intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress (what is the zone of danger for burning poop?); any others? Conversion, if they stole your poop to burn.

Fun to watch people "study" at starbucks by: 1. going outside for 2 hours to chat on their phone, 2. downloading illegal music for 4 hours on their computer when they are sitting down, and 3. opening their BarBri book for 5 minutes, closing it, and deciding that they did enough studying. Thank you for making the curve.

Did anyone else notice that one of the fighters in EliteXC last night was a Minnesota grad and taking the Minnesota bar this week? Unbelievable.

God I hope there's a secured trannie question on tuesday bioches

206, that was Nick "the Goat" Thompson. Good guy. Class of '08 from Minnesota. Yeah, can't imagine doing a MMA fight that close to the bar exam.

He's gonna KICK THAT TEST'S ASS

Did anyone do the PMBR Crim question in the bluebook where a guy named Joubert (I assume thats pronounced Jew-bert) robs a church? I can't believe PMBR would do that.

210:

There's a *blue* PMBR book?!

I haven't been this surprised since I learned that the NY Bar starts on Tuesday rather than Wednesday.

But anyway, cheers to PMBR for calin' 'em like they see 'em.

wow-- 210 you must be one of those alarmist Jews. ibet over half the people involved with PMBR are Jewish. There was also Barbri question about Leroy burglarizing Vladimir's house. They might as well said Jamal. Get over it

Does anyone know offhand how many states still require business dress at the bar exam?

My state seems to let you wear anything but flip flops (too distracting to others when you head to the can).

212 - Hey, I am offended by that comment! (everyone at Berkeley)
Hey, you forgot Tyrone too! (everyone in the Southeastern US, except south Florida)

Does anyone actually do practice performance tests? I'm taking my second state bar, both with PTs, and all the BarBri stuff is all hyper panicky about them, but seriously...if you have half a brain, those things are a joke.

215, no to the practice MPTs. Doing well on the MPT is like beating a 6-year old in a race...easy to do, but not really that satisfying.

215, for me the trick wasn't getting the writing correct, it was learning how to plow thru the things in the allotted time. I must be a lil' slow, but I did two practice PTs, got everything on both, but barely made the time limit each time. Not like the MBE and state Qs where I had some time to spare.

ALL YOUR BARS ARE BELONG TO US

I was freaking out because I had memorized all the outlines, especially the multistate ones, but my MBE scores were going up only marginally. I kept telling myself that the barbri questions were terribly written to the point of making it all but irrelevant whether I knew the law or not, but couldn't shake the fear.

Then I did the sample questions provided by MBE itself.
16/18 with 5 minutes to spare through 18 questions. None of the ambiguities arising from poor drafting that are ubiquitous in barbri questions were there.

Barbri = swinging a bigger bat? Or just misdirection and stress multiplier?

213 is taking the PA bar. no flipflops - hilarious! i hope all the rich girls from Penn don't wear their noisy heels. even better yet, i hope they do wear them and the proctors make them take the the barefoot.

219, i did those questions and got 16/18 too, but apparently the actual MBE questions are harder than those. They're more like the PMBR questions. FUCKKKKKK

I have no idea why the MBE people would post those practice questions if they're not representative of actual MBE questions, but who the hell knows.

221, harder doesn't intimidate me. I know the law. Sounds like you do too. What terrified me was the thought that there was something impenetrable about the questions that magically went away for everyone else on exam day that wasn't going away for me. I'm now confident that's not the case. Even if I don't deliver an 88% raw performance on exam day, I should be passing with a nice little cushion for the essays.

Back to wills.

221 here. I agree with you, 223. Some of those Barbri and PMBR questions are drafted quite poorly. My problem hasn't been in preparation and memorizing the law, but I haven't been doing as well as I'd like on the Barbri/PMBR questions. My anxiety stems mainly from having no idea what to expect. I don't know how the NY essays measure up to Barbri either. The worst part is just not knowing what's about to slap me in the face.

any attire restrictions for the NY bar? I don't see any on the admission ticket or security policy....shorts and T-shirt ok?

The bar exam is open note, right?

Open Book and Open Note. No Commercial Outlines. Just Like Buffalo!

Guys from my high school took the bar exam open note all the time. It was no big deal.

for 221 and everyone else:

I must not fear
fear is the mind-killer
fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration
i will face my fear
I will permit it to pass over me and through me
and when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path
where the fear has gone there will be nothing
only I will remain.

Just to give some perspective here. I'm taking my second state bar.

Last year, I only studied with Barbri...I got a 98 on the June practice MBE (I had done zero studying at that point beyond just going to class and making a few flashcards), and prior to the exam, was getting about 75% right. I thought the actual MBEs on the bar looked nothing like Barbri's and were way harder and spent months panicking that I tanked the exam... I got a 141 (scaled) on the actual exam, so I was fine.

I'm practicing this time around with a PMBR book I bought off ebay. The questions are more like what I saw on the day off, though a bit harder.

So, moral of the story...as long as you are doing an acceptable level on the Barbri MBEs, you'll do fine even if you do panic at the difficulty of the actual bar MBEs. And if you are doing PMBR, you'll be well prepared.

Fuck off 229

229:

One Night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you you'd walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

223 - I've noticd the same thing based on the crappy bar-bri questions. I asked around and two of my friends who got back MBE scores confirmed that they did substantially better on the exam questions than they were doing immediately before with the bar-bri questions. They also found the MBE questions easier, primarily because they were better written.

I think the barbri questions are like practice swings with a heavy bat even if they stress you out. You study more that way and are pleasantly surprised by how much better you do. However, they still really piss me off.

232, only one response comes to mind: "Suck it, Jesus!"

Nice 229 -- Muad'Dib

I, too, will attempt to use the ways of the Bene Gesserit on Tuesday.

232, then the Lord was sued for battery since it was a unlawful touching.

Gratz 232: You get the "that was a criminal law question?" prize. You can't sue for an "unlawful touching causing harmful or offensive contact" because that is CRIMINAL battery. What you meant to say was, since it was an "act intentionally causing harmful or offensive contact." . . .

i meant prosecuted....but would that be terrible if the choices for an open question were:

a)"unlawful touching causing harmful or offensive contact"
b)"act intentionally causing harmful or offensive contact."
c) no crime
d) your fail

In NY there is no criminal battery... check

But if the lord perpetrated even the slightest vaginal penetration, without consent , into the person he was carrying, it would be rape, because that's a general intent crime. (lack of consent presumed b/c the person was unconscious or otherwise did not know she was being carried and thus incapable of consenting)

its called assault (and battery)

there is no "and battery" -- just degrees of lameness. injury is required. attempted assault requires intent to injure.

common law assault is menacing in NY.

I wonder if it's true what Barbri said about remembering more things than you thought you would. I keep thinking the more I put in it just pushes something else out. The essays freak me out more than the MBE because it's just a brain dump. They could put up some obscure shit and then I got nuttin to dump yo

Consent to the Lord's touching is presumed in tHIS jurisdiction.

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/530/jesuslolyg0.jpg

is the bar curved?

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKk
GONNA DIEEEEEEEE

My friend and I studied together for the bar last year. He was totally acing the practice MBE questions for both Barbri and PMBR. He scored a 140 on the simulated MBE exam. He was also consistently scoring 5-6 on the graded essay questions. He put in about 15 hours a day from day 1 until the day of he exam. I put in the same amount of effort except I scored a 99 on the simulated MBE exam and 1-2 on my essays. On day 1 of the exam, his mind went blank over the first question (commercial paper/criminal law). It totally messed him up for the rest of the exam on the first day. He was too upset to concentrate for the exam on the second day. He FAILED THE EXAM. I didn't know the commercial paper/criminal law essay either, but then again, I usually didnt know much about any of the essays I wrote for the practice essays so not knowing the first essay didnt bother me at all. I cruised through the 4 essays and the MPT. I PASSED THE EXAM. What is the moral of this story? You decide.

what did people just not study commercial paper last year? or was it something Barbri didn't cover? everyone keeps talking about that question, which makes it seem like people just tried to game the frequency chart and they got burned

I'm gaming the frequency chart. It's not a bad strategy.
Still feel extremely anxious though.

C'mmmmmmon SECURED TRANNY!!!!!!!! Give it to me uuhhhh

If I had to choose between taking the bar exam and fucking a tranny, I'd take the latter. Never thought I'd say that, but it's true. I'm livin' on a prayer.

you'd sell your soul to be part of this bullshit profession 250? If worse comes to worse, you fail and -- you take it again in a few months. not the end of the world

Yeah, good point 251. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on this test. I do kind of feel like dying though. -250

245 made me LOL.

i'd like to do a redo on the poll above. b/c i went from 6 to 9 since the other day. bet i'm not alone

I went from 10 to 7. But I think I may have given up. Despite studying all summer I feel like it's all a blob of info that I won't be able to gather. Not good.

i feel like i have learned so much crap that when i finally start writing an essay it's going to be like cumming after 3 months of celibacy and it'll all just be a sticky, jumbled mess

3 to 4. I'm going to the movies tomorrow, bc the paced program says so. I'm grateful it doesn't order us to kill little mammals to relax... I guess I'd do it.
Am I the only one to follow this paced thing?

didnt stdy at all this summer

fuck.

everybody ready for that multi part question on no fault insurance right off the bat?

Do you think the gallon ziploc bag is big enough to fit over my head if I start to tank?

Do you think the gallon ziploc bag is big enough to fit over my head if I start to tank?

yes

I feel like i'm going to pass but the pressure/anxiety is what's terrible about it - i just want it to be over. I've heard a lot of people talk about how they didn't think they passed, but they ended up passing; did anyone think they passed, but actually ended up failing?

264--I took the bar exam last year and I really can honestly say that I don't know anyone who thought they would pass and failed. The people I know that failed knew they would fail. I hope that helps.

this thread makes me want to shit myself.

210: Never read Victor Hugo, huh?

I ain't sayin I'm ready. I'm just sayin' I'm not gonna get any readier.

Would be such a pleasant stay at this nice hotel in Albany ... if I weren't here for such a terrible reason ...

I voted "4" the other day, but this morning when I woke up, I was in full panic attack. I want a re-vote.

My herpes are flaring-up.

Big time.

165 -- most underrated post.

I don't know how I'm supposed to be productive today considering that Jeopardy is on TV three times throughout the day (once in the morning on GSN, and then twice in the afternoon on NBC).

Damn dirty bar exam!

104 and 107. I passed the July 2007 bar.
I slacked off, but attended all lectures, paid attention and took detailed notes. For the first weeks, I simply attended lectures, and that was it. HOWEVER, I started studying furiously (8-10 hours) 4 weeks before the bar exam. Addtionally, I have always been "talented" at processing information, including the law, rather quickly.

I do not recommend my way, as my stress level hit 10++++ 2 weeks before the exam because I did jack shit. Believe me, study from day one, because it is not worth the stress and headache.

PS - had a 176 on the MBE, I was always good at multiple choice questions. Note - I was a lucky bastard to have passed the NY bar.

104 and 107. I passed the July 2007 bar.
I slacked off, but attended all lectures, paid attention and took detailed notes. For the first weeks, I simply attended lectures, and that was it. HOWEVER, I started studying furiously (8-10 hours) 4 weeks before the bar exam. Addtionally, I have always been "talented" at processing information, including the law, rather quickly.

I do not recommend my way, as my stress level hit 10++++ 2 weeks before the exam because I did jack shit. Believe me, study from day one, because it is not worth the stress and headache.

PS - had a 176 on the MBE, I was always good at multiple choice questions. Note - I was a lucky bastard to have passed the NY bar.

I am basically preparing my strategy for february already.

I am basically preparing my strategy for february already.

I am feeling ok. My head hurts from all of the law I have been cramming in there. I think I have all the state subjects basically down save tax. I saved that for last and I don't know if I can make it stick. I am trying to read the tax outline and it is making my head hurt. So, I figure I'll outline a few state essay practice questions, look at my flash cards and Kaplan notes and then relax. Going into panic mode right now will not get any of us anywhere. Good luck tomorrow everyone!

thank god no tax in nY

as for you 274, you sound like someone I could only stand in very small doses.

To those of you going to Albany, it really is a delightful city – try to enjoy it while you are there. Think not “I am here to take the bar exam”, but rather “I am on a vacation in Albany but have an extended commitment on Tuesday and Wednesday”.

The Empire State Plaza is a wonder not to be missed (one might well be in Bratislava), and the view of Troy from under the Egg is lovely.

After it is all over, I recommend that you saunter down to Jack's for some martinis, raw bar delights and a porterhouse – it was a fine counterweight to the excellent preparation brunches the weekend before.

http://www.jacksoysterhouse.com/

Calling it a summer

anyone that is intrigued by anything related to the egg in albany is probably going to fail the bar. the egg is straight TTT. forget the view, just head across the river to troy and score some crack on hoosic street.

246 - nice. That's classic! Sucks for your friend though. My friend saw that first question on Commercial Paper and was like "WTF???' but then she happened to look over and see the Editor-In-Cheif of her school's law review scratching his head and giving a similar "WTF???" face so then she felt ok. They put that question first deliberately to catch up people like your friend who, although they are geniuses, failed to learn the cardinal rule in timed exam taking - if you're getting stumped by a question folks - SKIP THAT MOTHERFUCKER and move on to the next one.

247 - Commercial paper took the July 2007 takers by surprise because:
A. it had not been tested since 1997
B. it was briefly covered by BarBri in a day
C. it was NOT, repeat, NOT part of the prophetic "BarBri Predictions" list of topics that, according to BarBri, were likely to show up that year
D. BarBri sucks bigtime
E. Pieper is no better
F. it's commercial fucking paper...i mean honestly...who studies commercial paper? Before the NY bar exam 90% of us didn't even know what commercial paper was?

I'm sure it will be back in another 10 years to screw over the class of 2017. Until then, I think you guys are safe. Study everything else.

In fact, our Crim question was WEAK (writing bad checks of all things!) You guys will probably get a real Crim question this summer, you know, something involving...oh I dunno...actual crimes people have studied for...might even throw a dash of Crim Pro in there for good measure.

Checked calendar 11 times this morning at 4am to make sure it wasn't today. :( I'm off to practice "driving" to the bar exam. any last minute tips?

Just don't panic and you'll be ok. Remember to keep saying "It should also be noted that" whenever you remember something that you forgot to mention.

If you haven't been hitting the books for the past two months for 4-8 hours a day, you have reason to worry. Otherwise, the week before the exam:
*Take practice exams for multi-state and essays. Use real ones that you can find on-line.
*Drill those PMBR charts! Ignore the Bar-Bri multistate crap.
*Get a hotel room for 2 days near your test site so that you don't have to drive in the morning.
On the day before the bar exam:
*Do some light reviewing.
*Go to the hotel's bar and pick up a stressing bar exam taker. Offer to "do some quick studying" in your room. You know what I mean. Its a big stress reliever.

282: The view from the Egg is even more delightful on January 30 with your good standing certificate in hand.

When you die, there will be prizes for high scorers on the bar. Also, for those who met all their law firm deadlines and never offended anyone at a cocktail party. Go, lawyers, go!

The bar passage rate for first-time test takers from NY law schools is close to 90%--everyone calm the fuck down--this whole thing is a big mindfuck like the first year of law school--didn't you learn then.

Caffeine pills -

One works wonders for about 6 hours. Should I pop one before the test, or too risky?

So many people are probably going to be taking amphetamines and you are worrying about a caffeine pill.

seriously, we need an ATL poll on Adderall use among law students.

anyways, good luck everybody

Unless you are experienced with your reaction to caffeine pills, do not do it. I tried that once and got sick as a dog.

Ambien and xanax got me through. Slightly kidding, but do what it takes to relax. Get some exercise, eat decent food, and have an occasional glass of wine or beer (not the whole bottle or six pack).

My general thought is that you have to be both extremely lazy or extremely dumb. Just being one or the other isn't enough.

One of the editors of our law review failed a few years ago. He fell into the extremely lazy category: bright, but thought he was so bright he didn't need to work like the rest of us. As he was a dipsh** and a tool, no one was too sad for him.

oops -- meant to say extremely lazy and extremely dumb. Damn I'm tired

feeling good... let's get this show on the road

This exam is going well so far.

Somebody needs to do a walk-by on the Javits center and make sure the kiddies are ok. :)

NY essays were nothing special. Torts/NY Practice, Crim Pro/Evidence, Agency/Partnership/Contracts in the morning. Wills/Secured Transactions, Property/Dom Rel in the afternoon.

fine on everything I think, except I fucking forgot to talk about causation and damages in the tort shit. muther fucker

even nailed the secured tranny. but fuck, I cant believe i left out causation and damages. fuck fuck fuck fuck me

I found the essays much harder than the Bar/bri ones. I talked about causation and the secured transaction thing though. MCQ were easier. MPT was extremely easy. Hopefully the hard part is over as we know tomorrow "C" is the right answer.